Maybe she needs to watch the competition on tape...she got her a@$ kicked fair and square. Wow, I really liked her, too. There is absolutely no excuse for acting this way. I guess she feels with all of the controversy over Hamm's win she can squeeze in and perhaps benefit in some way. This is truly disappointing, but I suppose we shouldn't be very surprised.

“I’ve seen a much tougher opposition than her. Let’s see how long she can remain on top. Can she keep going and compete in two more Olympics like myself.”

I guess it doesn't say much about her own gymnastic ability if a competitor she feels isn't that tough clearly out scored her. She needs to think before she opens her mouth.

Asked why she felt she was marked down by the judges, Khorkina said: “You better ask them. I think it’s because I’m from Russia, not from America!”

LOL! Whine, whine, whine! Why did the judges mark you down? I would venture to say it was because of sloppy execution and mistakes. Get over it! You lost!

Uh... I don't think so

In all of the subjective sports (ice skating, gymnastics, etc) the Russians are given a huge benefit of a doubt for their performances. On this message board people were joking about Russians getting higher placements and medals for "SWR"(Skating While Russian) during the 2003 World Championships. There are some Russian skaters (I'm not naming names) had they come from another country, say Slovenia or Belgium, would never have been placed in the top 5 at Worlds or won medals at the European Championships skating the same way. Miss Khorkina might have been a bit over scored.

Imagine if Michelle Kwan had whined that way at Nagano, SLC or the GPF of 2001. The American media would have ripped her.

BTW I just saw the results of the 1st days Individual Events......interesting.

I agree that Patterson was great, but Svetlana was, in my opinion better, with "grace, elegance and beauty rather than simply on mechanic tumbling.”

Don t get me wrong, Carly is super, but in my opinion too young to have grace and elegance.

:sheesh: So what does grace and elegance have to do with the value and difficulty of your gymnastic skills? From what I understand, most of Carly's routines had more difficulty. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't understand why Khorkina is whining. I was used to seeing her stick landings, but she didn't stick on them in the Athens all-around. She gave away little points here and there and it cost her.

I think grace and elegance have a lot to do with gymnastics. I too , prefer to see gymnastics routines done with style. When the Soviet Union was a power in gymnastics, they had the difficulty and the grace, unlike the Americans who just focus on the difficulty (and are not original). I thought Sveta's teammate, Anna Pavlova, was much better than Carly Patterson b/c she had both the difficulty and the style. I normally would have preferred Sveta's gymnastics, but her emaciated body really prevented me from liking her programs. I was amazed that she had the energy to complete the routines.

I agree that grace and elegance is more interesting to watch. That's what I prefer to see in skating or gymnastics. I would have been glad to see the diva get her gold especially after the fiasco in Sydney. I still don't understand how the Olympics can't get the height of the vault correct.

However, just from reading around the boards and watching the Olympics, Khorkina's start values seemed lower except for the uneven bars. When you have a lower start value, you have to do it perfectly (including graceful and elegant) for it to count towards the win. Khokina didn't do her routines perfectly. I don't completely understand gymnastics, but even I saw the steps on the landing and other form breaks during the routine. There was a big balance check on the balance beam as well. She just didn't hit her routines.

Again, correct me if I'm wrong about the start values but I have to agree that she didn't win. She is more interesting for me to watch, but I don't think she won.

What concerns me most in this situation are a couple of comments made by Khorkina in the link Piel provided, "I knew well in advance, even before I stepped on the stage for my first event, that I was going to lose." I don't suppose anyone has ever explained the problems of a negative attitude to her. Generally, if one thinks one will lose, it will happen. I don't think she can place blame for her loss of the gold medal on anyone other than herself. She messed up here and there, and it cost her the gold.

The second comment was this one concerning how the judges marked her, and that they should have been "more sympathetic to her plight in Athens." Excuse me, but as far as I'm aware the Olympic Games isn't about "sympathy," it's about excellence in athletic performance. If she felt cheated in Sydney than she should have worked even harder to prove she is, indeed, the best, and along with that she should have worked just as hard on her attitude---starting with the elimination of the diva-ism, LOL, and finishing with a positive attitude. IMHO, if nothing else, the postitive attitude would go a long way to help her deal with the loss of that gold medal now.

The comments she made in that article was in such poor taste and unsportsmanlike behavior that it shocked me and I'm not done in that easily. I really like her gymanstics but thought she was not "on" during the competition. It seemed liked she had no energy for what she was doing and I wondered if she was sick and needed hospitalization.

She has no one but herself to blame and I hope she never weasles her way into the admistrative side of gymanstics.